A few minutes ago an EPL match finished with one of the most extraordinary and unpredictable results this season has shown. Chelsea who are almost invincible at home and it's a credit for even the biggest of teams to get even a draw at Stamford Bridge have been defeated by a club whose aim is to make the top 4 after ages and that too beaten quite comfortably. This match and result seems significant in more ways than one. Let's make a list of what conclusions we can draw from it.
1. The EPL title race seems to have been reopened. Just a few weeks back most of us were of the view that the EPL title is almost destined to head to Chelsea but at this point in time that has become quite debatable. It's more like a three horse race now. Chelsea have been hit by a number of problems - some which have always been there but not been specifically pointed out and some which have come quite unexpectedly. They have been struggling in away matches and for it now to be shown that they can be vulnerable at home as well does them no favors. The injury to goal keeper Cech means Hilario now has to be in goal for a month or so. To most he does not appear to be good enough to face up to the biggest of matches. Has Chelsea erred by keeping a weak number 2 and letting Carlo Cudicini leave? Then the defense is looking increasingly less convincing with each match. Terry has been making too many mistakes in the last few matches. Some say this is due to his well known personal problems but whatever the reason it's costing the team and he is too big a name to be dropped. With both Ashley Cole and Zhirkov out the left back position is a problem. Michael Essien is a huge miss in central midfield with John Obi Mikel not looking good enough most of the times. There is a slight lack of both creativity and cutting edge in the attack. Joe Cole coming back is good news for them but without him there is a lack of creativity. Anelka too seems to have gone a little into his shell after an excellent start to the season. Chelsea are still league leaders but ManUtd are just one point behind. The latter are short of world class players and are also not without their injury problems but they have two huge aces up their sleeve - the red hot Wayne Rooney and the master Sir Alex Ferguson who in the last few years has given a tutorial on just how a club should handle injury problems. And Arsenal has been gifted the kind of chance that they would be stupid not to take full advantage of. Arguably a team with better overall attacking prowess or at least creativity than the other two they need to win at Stoke today which is easier said than done but it will put them just 3 points away from the top. They have a comparatively easier run of fixtures after that. With Fabregas running the team every time they need Arshavin to come back to his world class best. With that and some other basic problems such as the goal keeper and the central striker which need to be handled at least to an extent Arsenal must now go all out for the title.
2. As a separate point let's discuss just what the title would mean to each team. There is mainly one reason for Carlo Ancelotti, who has a more than decent claim to be called the best manager in UCL in a long time, to sometimes not be considered when a list of the world's best coaches is made. And that is quite obviously the lack of league titles. One Serie A title in eight years at Milan is just not good enough. He is more than expected to win EPL this time because on paper Chelsea have the best squad of all. Besides not doing that would mean giving a chance to biggest adversary Mourinho to claim that only he can win the title in his very first year in England. To ManUtd it means the chance to fulfill Sir Alex's long cherished dream to overhaul Liverpool as the club with the most league titles in England as they are tied right now. Besides four league titles in a row is unprecedented in England and it's also a chance for Rooney to establish himself as not just the best player in England but right up there with the very best in the world. And what of Arsenal who have gone 4 years without any trophy and 5 years without the title. Winning EPL would mean Arsene Wenger answering all his numerous critics and showing that success can be got without spending big money. And since Arsenal is out of both the cups this really is their best chance to win a trophy with UCL being that much more competitive and unpredictable.
3. My apologies that I haven't yet talked about the team that needs to be lauded for such a huge achievement. ManCity have lost all chances to win a trophy this year. Indeed after the FA Cup exit there was even talk of sacking Roberto Mancini. However no matter how much a trophy would mean it's arguable that a top 4 finish in the EPL and then capitalizing it to make the group stages in UCL after what has to be called an eternity would mean even more to the club. Now sitting on 4th place with a game in hand this is the least this club needs to aim for. The 4th place race in England is arguably even more exciting than the title race. However there is more to this victory. It's been an excellent day for Mancini who has made himself safe in the hot seat for some time. What's more he's once more put one over his old rival Ancelotti. And it's been a little less than 20 years since ManCity won a league game at Stamford Bridge. Even more ManCity have now done the double over Chelsea after more than 50 years. We can only imagine the kind of joy their supporters would be feeling now. Mancio has written his name in the club's history and taken a place in the supporter's hearts with this result.
4. Let's also talk a little about ManCity as a team and their players. Shay Given was arguably their purchase of the decade or some such thing. Reliable whenever he is needed and extraordinary at times how Arsenal could do with a goal keeper like that. The defense is still not fully convincing but it is showing signs of improvement having benefited from getting to know the Italian way from Mancini. The problem area remains the midfield which is not even up to the mark in England leave alone the world. More aptly it's the biggest weakness of the entire team that they are a poor passing side that just cannot keep the ball. One touch, two touches and after that the third player just has to play a long ball that may or may not end up at the right place. The team's confidence of playing on the ground is really low. The attack though is a different story. Even after letting Robinho go and having a Santa Cruz struggling for fitness ManCity do have a lot at their disposal. Adebayor, if he can keep his temper in check and his attitude under control, can be a real handful for defenses and can score goals at a steady pace. Yours truly takes pride in saying that this summer he said quite clearly that Carlos Tevez is that single player that can take ManCity to the next level. And it does look possible this season or soon after that. With his work rate, skills, intelligence, strength ( both physical and mental ) and finishing the Argentine really is the talisman of this side that they cannot do without. And finally a word about who its fair to say has been a very underrated player throughout his career - Craig Bellamy. We are not saying he is world class but he is a very competent player for sure. He has pace, the ability to run with and without the ball, can tirelessly work for the side and is well capable of scoring goals with commendable shooting ability. At times it's worth wondering why Benitez let him go. Yes Torres had just been purchased but with the kind of mediocrity Benitez stuffs his Liverpool squad with, he could do much worse than Bellamy. Any way the Welshman is now at just the right club and more than deserves a place in the starting 11.
5. Let's end with one more look at Chelsea's troubles but from a different perspective. Among all the 8 UCL ties whose first legs have been played the bookies rate the one between Chelsea and Inter as the most finely balanced. They do however still rate Chelsea as the favorites. Jose Mourinho who will be serving a long touchline ban in Serie A still gets enough reason to rejoice because this match proves that there are enough chinks in Chelsea'a armor for the 'Special One' to exploit. So what happens if Inter do get the better of Chelsea? And to add to that Chelsea cannot claim the EPL title either? Will Ancelotti be shown the door and Chelsea returns next season with a new coach for the umpteenth time? Well your guess is as good as mine. One point worth considering is that they cannot get Guus Hiddink back since he has committed to Turkey and bringing Mourinho back would mean Roman Abramovich having to lower his ego. All we can do at the moment is wait and watch.
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